THE VORTEX IS COMING! Starting this weekend it is going to be BITTERLY cold and I'll ask Dave Fraser about that today at 12:30 so get your weather questions ready! Here are some good tips to prepare your house for the hard freeze that is coming.
THE REAL ESTATE MARKET IS UNUSUAL RIGHT NOW But Realtor Ed Prather has the latest scoop on market conditions and what you can expect if you are planning on buying or selling right now. Find Ed here if you need help with anything real estate buying or selling related! He joins me at 1 to chat.
WHY RED NOTE IS ACCIDENTALLY BUILDING BRIDGES TikTok addicts who are freaking out about the impending ban in the US are now downloading Red Note, which is essentially China's Tik Tok for Chinese people (Tik Tok is banned, I wonder why) and a funny thing is happening. Chinese people are chatting with Americans about what life is like here and vice versa. This will not stand for China and I'm wondering if they pull Red Note from our app stores or end up banning it IN China because they can't let their people understand freedom. Read more here. I've got the reporter River Page on at 2:30 to talk about it.
I MEANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS YESTERDAY But didn't get to it but I'm getting to it today. Drag out the dead horse!
NOTHING PERSONAL AGAINST DARCY BUT NO Darcy Schoening has thrown her hat in the ring to be GOP Chair and I don't want her to win. She is part of the current leadership team and an ally of Dave Williams. That tells me all I need to know. She loves attacking fellow Republicans like this comment after she penned a nasty mailer that went into the 6th Senate District that created problems for the Republican candidate Cleave Simpson serious grief in his race.
Darcy Schoening, the Colorado GOP’s director of special initiatives and the author of the email, also blamed Simpson in a social media post Saturday. “Since Senator Cleave Simpson went to the media, to defend the trans agenda, and called my email ‘bigoted,’ I will address his actions and my response to his email to me yesterday here,” she wrote. “Cleave iterated that he is upset I ‘misgendered’ the individual in the pictures below. My original email, against his opponent and in support of him, is posted in pictures below. I submit that I correctly gendered Vivian and will continue to do so. Enough is enough. It is important we stand up to the agenda. If we don’t, we will lose our children and our country. We must have the courage to defend the truth and the fortitude to fight even when it is hard.”
We don't need more of this. We need someone who fights for ALL Republicans and isn't hell bent on driving people OUT of the party. Sorry, Darcy, that ain't you.
I OWE AN APOLOGY TO SENATOR BENNET'S PEOPLE Yesterday when I was on a tear about politicians being too cowardly to come on the show I singled out Michael Bennet for NOT being cowardly and recounted our good conversation at the DNC as an example of how it should work. My paranoia got the best of me though and I wondered aloud if it was "his people" that kept him from coming on the show. His people rightfully reached out to take umbrage with that statement and I want to make sure this apology is public as I don't want to cast aspersions on a team that is actually willing to make things happen. They didn't deserve that and I hope Senator Bennet will be on the show soon for another good discussion.
WESTWORD MUST HAVE A PERCEPTION PROBLEM Westword did a good article on the murders this past weekend on the 16th Street Mall that is FULL of "perception problems" as Mayor Mike Johnston called them. Perception problems like this bit:
In the past six months, there have been 65 violent crimes reported within a block of the mall, from 15th to 17th streets between Wewatta Street and Broadway, according to the Denver Police Department's crime map. That includes one other murder, twenty aggravated assaults, nine robberies and 35 incidents classified as "crimes against persons," which can include rape, kidnapping, stalking, hazing and other offenses.
Denver's overall crime rate decreased in 2024: There were 71,531 reported crimes last year, compared to 75,490 in 2023 and 77,851 in 2022, according to police department data. However, that drop is largely due to a decrease in property crime. Violent crime saw a slight uptick.
There were 6,450 reports of violent crimes in Denver in 2024, up from 6,416 the year before. Year-over-year reports of murders and sexual assaults both decreased in 2024 — by 11 percent and 4 percent, respectively — but robberies and aggravated assaults increased, by 2 percent and 1 percent.
As I said yesterday, perception is reality, Mayor.
TINY HOME COMMUNITIES ARE NOT WORKING Another great Westword article here about the microcommunities that were going to be pivotal in ending homelessness according to Mayor Mike Johnston. The problem is they aren't working. Look at this about the La Paz site in Overland:
The La Paz site can house sixty residents at a time, but it has only managed to get sixteen residents into permanent housing in ten months. Fourteen residents have returned to unsheltered homelessness, and the average amount of time each person spends living at the site is 125 days, or more than four months, says HOST.
Almost as many people have returned to the streets as have moved into permanent housing. Can we end the charade that housing is the problem? Read the whole article, the Denver City Council is going to be getting an update on the "progress" of these sites today.
THIS IS WHY I DON'T USE RIDE SHARE WHEN I'M BY MYSELF I hate that this is a new thing women get to worry about but here we are. Another LYFT driver assaulted ANOTHER woman and that woman is a member of the Colorado Legislature. She is now suing LYFT for not putting more safety features in place to insure what happened to her won't happen to others. This is why my friends and I will talk for an entire ride share ride if someone has to ride by themselves. This is one area where Taxis are better than LYFT.
MAYOR JOHNSTON GOT THIS RIGHT As much grief as I've given him this week I have to commend the mayor for vetoing this horrible expansion of needle exchanges that would have allowed them to operate right next to schools. I very much appreciate him putting children over junkies, unlike eight other members of the council who voted to normalize addiction to little children. Perhaps this is the beginning of a spine.
REPUBLICANS ARE TRYING TO SAVE US MONEY And Senate Republicans have rolled out a package of bills aimed at saving Coloradans money a myriad of ways. From repealing the stupid bag tax, delivery tax, and more, they are trying to put thousands of dollars back into the pockets of residents. I sure hope the media holds Democrats responsible when they send these to the Kill Committee so they don't have to vote on them in the general session.
AURORA IS WORKING TO BRING BACK CAMERA SPEED ENFORCEMENT I hate speed cameras. I think they are patently unAmerican because I can't face my accuser in court. That being said, Aurora is looking to bring them back in certain areas where speed is an issue. They are going about it differently this time because they got their clock cleaned financially the last time they did this. I hope they get their clock cleaned this time too.
ARAPAHOE COUNTY NEEDS POINT IN TIME VOLUNTEERS So if you want to help get a real handle on homelessness in Arapahoe County you should sign up to do this.
PETE HEGSETH HELD HIS OWN YESTERDAY And I think he gets confirmed as SecDef. Read this for a good overview of what happened, but you know when Democrats go after him for being an adulterer they are scraping the bottom of the barrel. If it didn't matter for Bill Clinton it surely doesn't matter now. That may be paywalled but this one is not. Scott Jennings said it best on CNN per usual.
CAN WE STOP WITH THIS NONSENSE, NANCY MACE? I like Nancy Mace MOST of the time. When she acts like she did yesterday, blowing up at a snotty Democrat colleague and asking her to "meet outside" for fisticuffs I do not like her. Was the Dem condescending and rude? Yes. Did Mace overreact? Most certainly. But this is what "fighting" for the people looks like these days and I am sick of it.
CBS NEWS ACTUALLY LISTENED To accusations that their coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict has been one sided against Israel. They've brought in a woman with a long history at the network to monitor and guide coverage in an effort to address concerns of "perceived bias". Read this from the email they sent to staffers:
“CBS News takes this responsibility seriously. While there is no way to cover such sensitive issues without provoking some degree of criticism, we have a responsibility to address those concerns. This includes feedback regarding perceived bias in some CBS News coverage. We cannot let this negatively affect our legacy or our future, our mission or our connection to our viewers.”
We'll see what changes in their coverage but at least they aren't just denying it and moving on. That's progress, isn't it?
COULD THE FED END UP HIKING RATES THIS YEAR? Ugh, this could be a thing unless we get government spending under control. Since Biden is leaving us a $1.7 TRILLION dollar deficit THIS YEAR ALONE it's going to take a herculean effort to bring inflation to heel. The Wall Street Journal says don't count out a rate hike to further tame inflation.
WHAT WILL THE CALI FIRES MEAN FOR THE MORTGAGE HOLDERS? I saw this story last night and it may be a harbinger of things to come. This dude spent $27 million on a Malibu mansion he was going to flip knowing he could only insure it for $3 million because that's all the insurance company would cover. He's now got a $100,000 a MONTH mortgage on a property he's going to get 3 mil for. How long before he declares bankruptcy? I would if I were him. How many other people are woefully underinsured that will do the same? This could have a very significant ripple effect, watch this.
HERE COMES THE BIG CONCERT TO HELP CALI RESIDENTS And I'm sure the one for folks still suffering in the Carolinas is right around the corner. HAHAHA, no one cares about them. Find out more here.
BIDEN SAYS PEOPLE SHOULD PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE IN TAXES Right after he pardons his son for not paying taxes. I can't make this up.
THESE FIRE VICTIMS MUST FEEL SO LOVED By this announcement of how the Feds are padding their fat wallets. Watch below or click here.
YOUR COWORKERS ARE NOT YOUR FAMILY This is SO TRUE. Watch below or click here
DENVERITES LOVE BEING ACTIVE And we're being recognized for that by Wallet Hub. Read it here.
ELON MUSK SAVES THE DAY AGAIN By delivering Starlink units to California firefighters.
THIS IS WHY ATHLETES DON'T SIGN AUTOGRAPHS Because people get them to sign or in this case, do a jersey swap, so they can turn around and sell it. I don't know what the situation is for these parents but this took a cute moment and soured it.
WHAT IF AHNOLD RAPPED? Now we know what that would sound like. Watch below or click here.
THANK GOODNESS WE'RE ALMOST DONE WITH THIS Another word salad from Kamala.